Canyon After School Program

The Canyon After School Program, referred to as CASP, provides Canyon Elementary students after school care on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 3:00pm to 6:00pm, and Wednesday from 1:30pm – 6:00pm.

Kindergarten Care, referred to as K-Care, is offered Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 1:00pm – 3:00pm, meeting for a total of 8 hours. A minimum of 3 kindergartners need to be signed up for K-Care to justify staffing.

The CASP director is Camille Rodriguez. She may contacted at the After Care building at (925) 377-9438. In an emergency, you may also call the school at (925) 376-4671.

Eligibility

All Canyon Elementary School students enrolled for the current 2014 – 2015 academic year are eligible to be enrolled in Canyon After School Program (CASP), with the exception of those whose families have an unpaid bill with CASP.

Under no circumstances will anyone owing money to CASP be permitted to enroll.

Please note that children who are not presently enrolled at Canyon Elementary School (including siblings of currently enrolled students) are not eligible to participate in CASP. Our insurance policy only covers currently enrolled Canyon School students.

Hours of Operation

Please note: Only students enrolled in CASP may be on school grounds during CASP’s hours of operation. CASP staff must be responsible the safety and welfare of enrolled/paying participants only. Liability issues preclude individuals not enrolled in CASP from being present.

K-Care

K-Care is offered Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 1:00-3:00 pm, meeting for a total of 8 hours. A minimum of 3 kindergarteners need to be signed up for K-Care to justify staffing.

K-Care activities include: cooperative games, free play, read alouds, nature walks, imagination games and art projects. Many parents view K-Care as additional time for their child to acclimate to school surroundings as well as a built in play date.

General After Care

After care for all students is offered on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 3:00-6:00 pm and on Wednesday from 1:30-6:00 pm.

In addition, we plan on offering special programs some of which will involve advance sign-up and an additional program charge. Previous offerings have included: Chess Club, Guitar, Bronze Casting, Drama, Clay Animals, Cartoon Drawing, Italian Club, Dance and Role Playing Games.

Late Care: 5:30pm – 6:00 pm

Please note that a minimum of three students must be enrolled in the 5:30-6:00 pm time slot in order for After Care to be scheduled until 6:00 pm on any given day. In the event that only one or two students have requested After Care until 6:00 pm on any given day, the family(ies) in question will be contacted and given the opportunity to pay an additional fee to cover our costs of staying open for fewer than three participants.

CASP Enrollment Options

Contracted After Care (Your BEST Value!!)

Plan a consistent schedule of weekly after care hours and pay approximately $5.00/hour for one child and $8.00/hour for two children (Children must be present at the same time). (Compare to drop-in rate of $7.25/hour for one child and $11.50/hour for two children). In order to sign up for contracted after care, please complete the CASP enrollment form indicating your desired after care schedule. Please refer to the tuition chart (lavender) to determine what your monthly payment would be and when payments are due.

Please note that you must schedule a minimum of 4 weekly hours. A child’s schedule must be the same each week. The pick-up time must be on the hour or half hour (ex. 4:00 pm, 4:30 pm). Please be sure to select pick-up times that you know you will be able to meet, in order to avoid late fee charges.

If you schedule a total number of hours that come out to X plus half an hour, you will need to round up to determine your monthly tuition charge. For example, if you schedule a total of 5½ weekly hours, you would pay for 6 weekly hours. In such an instance you might want to review your initial schedule and add in an additional half hour.

· Please note that you are being charged for approximately 180 days; the number of days that school is in session each year. Each month, you are asked to pay for the average number of school days in a billing period rather than the actual number of school days in a particular billing period. While some billing periods have fewer teaching days than others, such as months with holidays, others have more teaching days. This simplified billing system is easy to follow and allows both you and CASP to be able to plan ahead.

Drop In After Care

This is a pre-pay program. It is possible to purchase after care hours at a drop-in rate of $7.25/hr. for one child and $11.50/hr. for two children (when both are present). Drop-in must be for at least one hour. Specific drop-in hours must be reserved (at least 24 hours in advance); pick-up must be on the hour or half hour (ex. 3:00-4:00 pm, 3:00-4:30 pm). Blocks of 20 drop-in hours may be purchased as follows:

20 hours / 1 child / $145

10 hours / 1 child / $72.50

20 hours / 2 children / $230 (when both are present)

Important Notes:

CASP families enrolled on a monthly schedule may purchase additional drop-in hours. CASP must be provided with a minimum of 24 hours notice before your drop-in request. Due to our need to maintain adequate staffing for number of participants, drop-in is based upon availability.

Canyon School families not enrolled on a monthly schedule, who wish to use CASP on a more limited basis, may also purchase drop-in hours.

All families using CASP, including those who only purchase drop-in hours, must have a CASP pick-up form, emergency medical information sheet, and authorization for medical treatment/release form on file.

Drop-in hours must be used within the school year in which they are purchased.

CASP Enrollment & Participation Fees

Enrollment Procedure

After reading through the CASP General Information and Policies sheets…

First tuition payment (dollar amount depends on number of hours per week you select and number of children). Please refer to tuition chart and monthly payment schedule (lavender). You may submit one check with both the application fee and your first tuition payment; check payable to CASP.

Please contact Camille Rodriguez at (925) 377-9438 if you have any questions regarding enrolling in CASP.

Application Fee

A $30 nonrefundable application fee must be submitted with the CASP enrollment form. This fee helps defray the costs involved in setting up and maintaining your account.

Late Fees

Late fees, if applicable, will be noted on your statement and must be paid when your next monthly payment is due. After May 1, late fees due to late pick-up must be paid on the spot. There are 2 kinds of late fees:

A $25 late fee will be charged if one’s contracted monthly payment is not received on time. Please refer to payment schedule for specific dates when late fees will be imposed. One’s enrollment in CASP will automatically be discontinued, if tuition is still delinquent after the 14th of the month.

There is a 9-minute grace period by which time contracted after care participants must be signed out. Beginning at 10 minutes, a late fee of $1.00 per minute up to five minutes and then $5.00 for each additional ten minutes, per child, will be charged. For example: Someone contracted to pick up their child(ren) at 5:00 pm signs out at 5:13 pm. Late fee will be $4.00 for one child or $8.00 for two children. If sign out occurs at 5:23 pm late fee will be $9.00 for one child or $18.00 for two children.

For pick up after closing, after 5:30 or 6:00 pm, the late charge is $15.00 for each fifteen-minute interval (per child).

Frankly, we do not want to be charging late fees. It is a waste of your money and our time. Please insure that you pay your monthly payments on time and select a weekly schedule with pick-up times you can comfortably meet.

Thank you!

Bounced Check Fee

In the event that a check issued to CASP does not clear, you will be charged a $15 bounced-check fee, payable immediately along with a new check. If we receive a second bad check, you will be charged a $20 bounced-check fee and will be required to pay all future payments (including the replacement for the returned check) in the form of cashier’s check, money order, or cash.

Procedures for CASP Participants

Sign-in/Sign-Out Procedure

CASP Staff will sign participants enrolled in CASP in on the CASP roster.

The person picking-up a participant must sign the child(ren) out on the CASP roster.

Please keep your CASP Pick-Up Form up to date with names of individuals authorized to pick-up your child(ren) and their current phone numbers.

A note or call is required if someone other than the customary person is going to pick up your child(ren).

Absence

Please let us know if your child(ren) is going to be absent before his/her scheduled time of arrival. Due to staffing and budgetary commitments, we are unable to give credit, either in time or money, for days your child(ren) does not attend his/her scheduled time.

Behavior Policy

All CASP participants are expected to respect CASP staff and participants. They are expected to follow all rules of the program. These rules are designed to keep CASP participants safe; physically and emotionally. In the event that CASP staff is having difficulty with a participant’s conduct the following steps will be taken:

The participant will explain unacceptable behavior to CASP staff. This is their first warning of the consequences if behavior continues. If the problematic conduct continues…

The Staff member will talk to the participant and may temporarily suspend certain privileges. In addition, the CASP Director will be informed about the situation. If the behavior continues…

The parent (who enrolled the child in CASP) will be called. If the parent would like, the CASP Director will be available to meet with the student and parent together to discuss the situation so that both parent and child may be made aware of the consequences for continued behavioral problems, which may include a short suspension from the program. Depending on the circumstances, the CASP Director may require such a meeting. If the behavior continues…

The parent will be called and notified that the child in question has been dismissed from CASP for a minimum of 30 days. No refund of any pre-paid monies will be issued. It is at the discretion of the CASP Director as to whether or not said student may be re-enrolled in CASP at a future date.

Project Volunteers

All Canyon School parents (and aunts, uncles, grandparents…) are welcome to contribute to CASP by leading a project or activity with CASP participants. If you have experience in any art, science or literary talents please come share them with Canyon children! Your project may be art related (ex. Origami), science-based (ex. leaf collection/study) or theme-based (ex. related to a holiday). Thanks!

Permission to Walk Home from CASP

If you reside in Canyon and feel that your child is responsible enough to walk home safely, you can complete a Walk Home Permission Form. This will allow us to release your child from CASP, at a specified time, without someone picking him/her up. Form available upon request.

Schedule Changes

You may request a change to your child(ren)’s schedule at any time during the school year. A reduction of tuition due to a reduction of hours would go into effect on the first day of the month when the reduction of hours would begin. An increase in tuition due to an increase in hours would go into effect on the first day of the month when the increase in hours would begin.

In order to change your child(ren)’s schedule, please complete a Schedule Change Application, available upon request. We ask that you please limit the number of times you change your child(ren)’s schedule to not more than once in any given month and not more than 6 times during the school year. Thank you!

Withdrawal from CASP

You may discontinue your child(ren)’s enrollment in CASP at any time prior to May 1. In the event of withdrawal, your tuition obligation will extend through the last day of your child(ren)’s participation in CASP. Please note that there is no refund of tuition for withdrawal May 1 or after. CASP Withdrawal Forms are available upon request.

Our Right to Adjust Fee Structure and Hours of Operation

Please note that CASP can only exist if the fees brought in meet the costs of running the program. The fee structure that we have put into place is one that we feel should sustain our operating costs. However, we are a small school with an even smaller number of families using CASP. The number of families using CASP and the numbers of hours they use CASP can fluctuate. In the event that CASP revenues are not meeting our operating costs, we will have to respond immediately by raising fees and/or reducing our hours of operation.

Contact Us

We are interested in parental feedback. Please feel free to give us your input. CASP staff can be reached during CASP hours of operationat (925) 377-9438.